Improvement in drays



,WARREN & BRANGWIN. Dray.

No. 76,856. Patented April 14, 1868.

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EDWARD WARREN AND .THOMAS BRANGWIN, OFCERESGO, MICHIGAN.

Letters Patent' No. 76,856, dated April 14, 1868; mitctZatecZ'ApM'Z 8,- 1868,.

IMPROVEMENT In nears.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAXT CONOERN:

Be it known thatwe,E1 wARD WARREN and THOMAS BRANGWIN, both of the village of Ceresco, in the county of Calhoun, and-State cf Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Drays; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction 'and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure I is a perspective View.

Figure 2 is a plan view of under side of dray.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both iigures.

The nature and object of our invention are the better adaptation ofthe ordinary two-wheeled drayfor use in crowded thoronghfares; and it consists in constructing the dray-bed'in two sections, providing the shafts with a semicircular head-frame of metal, sothat they may be free toturn under the forward section, on a ceutral pivot, and so hanging and securing the two sections together, and securing the pivoted shafts, that the draybed and shafts may be used in all respects like the rigid ones in common use, except when necessary to facilitate ythe loading orunloading, and economizing street-travelling space,'by employing the devices which we are now l v about to describe, so as to better enable those skilled in this branch of mechanism to construct theA same.

We construct our dray-bed in two separate sections, A and B, and connect them together by stout hinges, L, on the under side', or by any other of the ordinary modes in common use, to form a strong hinge-joint. This joint, when the bed is in place, should be a proper distance forward of the cranked axle C, between which and the hinder section, A, two elliptic springs, G, are placed, and connected substantially in the usual way/ We deem the joint necessary, for the purpose ofgtilting the section A, so as to form an inclined plane, to facilitate the loading and unloading, without aecting the plane of rotation of the shafts D, which are formed with or connected properly to a semicircular bow-head frame of metal, E,pivoted by a king-bolt (the head vof which is seen at a) to the forward section, I3, at the centre of rotation. As we design to make the shafts capable of swinging round on both sides, to a right angle, or nearly so, with the dray, the relative proportions of parts required, in some cases, .may bring the shafts into contact with the wheels, in which case we propose to form bows, as at so as to leave the necessary clearance.

For the purpose of locking the two hinged sections rigidly together, we employ two or more spring-catches, as at F, securely strapped to one of the bed-sections. The end lips of said catches are seen in fig. 1, at ti, as disengaged, for the hind section is thercshown as tilted, and the-shafts partially swung round. i

Opposite these-,catches we bolt stoutly to the other section, two or more locking-plates, as at L, having rectangular openings large enough to receive, not only'the lips ofthe spring-catches, but the cams e ofa tiltingshaft, "l, provided at each end with a lever, Z, so arranged that the cams will overlap the lips of the catches, in such manner that when the tilting-shaft is partially rotated, by lifting either of the levers, the cams will depress the spring-catches, and discngage them from tno locking-plates. The bearing-surfaces of the catches and lock-plates may be hardened, if deemed necessary, and the whole sunk iiush with the dray-bcd, and covered by a strip of plate-iron fastened to the hind part, so as to overlap the joint, with a slight curve, to allow heavy bodies to slide over it easily, a broken section being shown at m.

S represents a spring-stop, furnished at each end with a handle and shouldered projections, 1t, for the purpose of locking the shafts laterally, when in liuc with the draybed. We usually pivot to each side of the dray-bed a strut, 7c, which can be turned up andheld parallel in any convenient way, when not in use, and dropped to support the load when the shafts arc to be moved.

' Should it be deemed ncccssarpY to brace the axle, a forked brace-strap, II, jointed, as at el, may be secured to it, while a T-hcadcd bolt, tapped in the end of the hing-bolt, and passing through a slot in the other cud of the brace, will secure it at that point, and allow freedom for the change of plane.

In the arrangement as seen in iig. 2, the plates of the hinges 71., together with thc plate of the spring-stop, and one or more of the bent guide-platos, as seen at p, form', in general,` sulilciont beari'ngsurfaccs for guiding theshaft-bow E, but friction may 'De still further reduced by the interposition of smallrollers, `if considered necessary.

When the dray is backed to the sidewalk, (say to unload,)and the projection'of the horse in the street impedes travel, the drayman detaches and drops a strut, 7c, lifts, by the handle, one end of the springs clear from the shaft-bows, and turns the horse and` shafts round towards the oppos'te unencumbered side, until it stands about parallel withthe curb, and out ,of the way; he then lifts the lever next to him, of the tilting-shaft T, as aforesaid, and lowers the section 'A of the platform-bed. As the 4levers Zfall by their own Weight, the cams are always in' position to permit the spring-catches to pass underneath, when sprung `in by lifting, or by the Weight of the draymoln on the forward section. y i

What we claim as our` invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. We claim the drayshafts D, provided with a semicircular .bow-head, E, in combinationwith the hinfgedV sections A and B of the platform-bed of a dray, substantially as andfox` the purpose specified.

2. We claim` the arrangement and. combination of the spring-catches F, lockplates L, cranked tilting cam-` shaft T, and spring-stop S, with the aforesaid hinged sections, and pivoted bow-headed shafts, substantially in the manner and for the uses set forth.

, EDWARD WARREN,

THOMAS BRANGWIN. Witnesses:

OTTO L. JoHNsoN, GEORGE JOHNSON. 

